QUINTA UNIDAD TEMA: SECOND CONDITIONAL

GUA N 8

THE SECOND CONDITIONAL

The second conditional is called the present unreal conditional. It is for

hypothetical activities or impossible situations. For example:

If we were in London today, we would be able to go to the concert in Hyde

Park.
If I had millions dollars, I'd give a lot to charity.
If there were no hungry people in this world, it would be a much better place.
If everyone had clean water to drink, there would be a lot less disease.

FORMULATION

IF + SIMPLE PAST + MODAL + BASE VERB

Note that after I/he/she/it we often use the subjunctive form 'were' and not 'was'.
(Some people think that 'were' is the only 'correct' form but other people think 'was'
is equally 'correct'.)

If she were happy in her job, she wouldn't be looking for another one.
If I lived in Japan, I'd have sushi every day.
If they were to enter our market, we'd have big problems.

The second conditional uses the past simple after if, then 'would' and the infinitive:

if + past simple, ...would + infinitive

SECOND CONDITIONAL HAS TWO USES:

FIRST, we can use it to talk about things in the future that are probably not going to
be true. Maybe I'm imagining some dream for example.

TEACHER: SHIRLEY VERNICA RIVERA CARREO

 QUINTA UNIDAD TEMA: SECOND CONDITIONAL

o If I won the lottery, I would buy a big house (I probably won't win the
lottery)
o If I met the Queen of England, I would say hello.
o She would travel all over the world if she were rich.
o She would pass the exam if she ever studied. (She never studies, so this
won't happen)

SECOND, we can use it to talk about something in the present which is impossible,
because it's not true. Is that clear? Have a look at the examples:

o If I had his number, I would call him. (I don't have his number now, so it's
impossible for me to call him).
o If I were you, I wouldn't go out with that man.

HOW IS THIS DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST CONDITIONAL?

This kind of conditional sentence is different from the first conditional because this
is a lot more unlikely.
For example (second conditional): If I had enough money I would buy a house with
twenty bedrooms and a swimming pool (I'm probably not going to have this much
money, it's just a dream, not very real)
But (first conditional): If I have enough money, I'll buy some new shoes (It's much
more likely that I'll have enough money to buy some shoes)

SECOND CONDITIONAL QUESTIONS

Here are some examples second conditional questions:

What would you do if you were me?

If you had $1,000, what would you buy?
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you
want to live?
Who would you like to meet, if you could meet anyone?

TEACHER: SHIRLEY VERNICA RIVERA CARREO

 QUINTA UNIDAD TEMA: SECOND CONDITIONAL

Notice that the questions are unreal situations. In the examples, it is clear
that it is impossible to live anywhere in the world or meet anyone in the
world.

Fuente: www.learnenglish-online.com

TEACHER: SHIRLEY VERNICA RIVERA CARREO